Shamim Hossain struck a robust fifty that guided Rangpur Riders to confirm a spot in the second qualifier as the side scripted a four-wicket victory over Fortune Barishal in the eliminator of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.

Rangpur cruised to 172-6 with three balls to spare in response to Barishal's 170-3, thanks to Shamim's 51-ball 71 and Rony Talukdar's 29 off 17 balls.

Shakib Al Hasan, Kamrul Islam, and Khaled Ahmed scalped two wickets each, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz top scored with 69 off 48 balls for the outgoing side.

Barishal openers Mehidy and Andre Fletcher got off to a good start, going unscratched until 46 seconds into the power play, when they were sent to bat.

However, Rakibul Hasan Barishal suffered its first setback when the latter dropped a catch to Rony Talukdar for 12 off 16 balls.

But Mahmudullah and Miraz in the second wicket shared a brilliant 46-ball 69 run stand that aided the side to surpass the hundred mark within the twelfth over, that gave their fans a glimpse of a mammoth total.

But their hopes were dashed after Dasun Sanaka's frustrating dismissal of Mahmudullah for a 21-ball 34 in 13.3 overs, which eventually slowed the run flow.

And it turned out to be more disappointing when Miraz was caught by Hasan Mahmud just after two overs.

Then, in the fourth wicket stand, Bhanuka Rajapakshe and Karim Janat added an unbeaten 29-ball 44 to help the team reach a challenging total.

Chasing down the target, Rangpur suffered a blow, losing opener Mohammad Naim for a duck.

However, in the next stand, Rony and Shamim put on a 39-ball 61-run stand to overcome their initial damage and also fought back Rangpur before the former was caught by Kamrul Islam Rabbi, leaving the side at 61-2.

But Shamim carried on single handedly and shared a 22 ball 35 and a 21-ball 26 with the skipper Nurul Hasan and Nicholas Pooran, respectively, to pull the side too close to victory prior to his exclusion by Khaled Ahmed in 16.4 overs.

The rest was done by Mahedi Hasan and Pooran, who landed the former titlist in the harbor of victory.